Weighed my car yesterday......

[pelotonracer2]

Originally Posted by sleepyboy

whoa I could even read all of that and I don't even want to try next time just make it in lay mans terms

Heh...

What's that? You need a translation?

I know that was kind of long but if you take the time to read it, it will make alot more sense!

[sleepyboy]

wow that has to go down in history has the longest post ever and yeah I see your point of view



oh and I read it after seeing your post though I did read the first part the first time but then I scrolled down and down and down and gave up

[WeeAsp]

Originally Posted by pelotonracer2

I don't know about that... there's alot of useless junk in the car that is not needed for a project like mine. Don't get me wrong, I think the Focus has lots of potential, especially *if* I could remove 500+ pounds of weight AND tweak the weight distribution (and the rest of the car so it can handle it). .........

........

I certainly hope my NOVEL clears up what direction I'm going here and where my thinking process comes from.

It certainly sounds like a worthwhile project if you have the time, the expense and the lack of constraints from a rule book.

I'm interested to see how it works out.

You make valid points.

My comments were made with respect to keeping the car "basically stock".

You are carrying much further than that.

Just curious, with the weight removal project you are undertaking, do you intend to do away with the safety gear as well or add your own?

I would ask that you take that into consideration on your project.

[bigdaddyssvtf]

Originally Posted by WeeAsp

Is it possible that there is more weight from different materials/option packages (I know that's inherently obvious, but 200 LBS!?!?)

You guys have got me thinking now...

OK guys I happen to drive a big truck and can tell you from experience any scale big enough to weigh a car can be +/- 200 lbs!!! and it can still be certified as accurate. So unless you want to all meet up and weigh on the same scale on the same day you're beating a dead horse here. BTW I weighed 2840 on local scale w/me in the car and full tank. I weigh 240# so there's no way that's accurate.

[killer ZETEC]

my guess is he'll cage it and get harnesses.

[pelotonracer2]

Originally Posted by WeeAsp

It certainly sounds like a worthwhile project if you have the time, the expense and the lack of constraints from a rule book.

I'm interested to see how it works out.

You make valid points.

My comments were made with respect to keeping the car "basically stock".

You are carrying much further than that.

Just curious, with the weight removal project you are undertaking, do you intend to do away with the safety gear as well or add your own?

I would ask that you take that into consideration on your project.

I wish I could get rid of the airbags, but I won't for safety reasons (that and it must pass the visual inspection we have here in Texas. Those suckers really add alot of weight to a vehicle. I'll use the OE front seat belts. I'll explore the possibility of modifying (lightening up)the front and rear bumpers, but I'm not going to remove them completely.

If I could find some carbon fiber doors, that would be cool but I haven't found anyone that offers them. I've found OE looking hoods, fenders and rear hatch that should save considerable weight. There are other ways to cut out weight (by using a hole saw in non critical areas while still retaining strength charactoristics of the material. I will actually be adding a little weight in the form of additional bracing (frame/chassis). This car seems to suffer from alot of chassis flex in stock form. This translates to a sort of "vague" feel to the handling and chassis response. When I'm done the car will feel very connected to the road. I wish there was an easy way to tighten up the steering (it appears to be way over assisted) but some of that is caused by the chassis torsion/flex and relatively soft stock suspension tuning. I don't plan on a teeth rattling ride but I will lower the car using currently available aftermarket springs and struts with better valving.

None of this is going to happen overnight. It will probably take a year or a little longer to complete. first, I need to find another car to drive everyday OR find another Focus SVT to do the transformation with.

[pelotonracer2]

Originally Posted by killer ZETEC

my guess is he'll cage it and get harnesses.

No cages, no harnesses... I don't plan on running 11.99 second quarter mile times and this won't be a true "race" car. The stock seatbelts will be just fine. Adding a roll cage will add too much weight and that would be getting away from the direction I'm trying to go and the weight savings I'm trying to achieve.

The SVT will still be safer than a motorcycle! hehe

[markysparky66]

sorry i cant tell you my secret :)

[Impaled]

OH yeah how about some interior pics marky :)

[pelotonracer2]

1,700 pounds or bust here soon!